Grandchildren

Time with Family + Thoughtful Gifts = Merry Christmas for RGranddad

So wow, a whole week has gone by with nary a post from RGranddad!! But then it was a rather a busy Christmas Week! Monday I babysat Zoe for a little while, it would have been longer because Dad Peter was home sick, but while he still felt bad, he said he could watch Zoe. So I went home and brought the tree in to start setting it up. Later, we went back so that Grammie could visit with Zoe! Tuesday and Wednesday I worked at Target and then Thursday was Christmas Eve and, of course, Friday was Christmas.read more

Mom and Dad Throw Zoe a Wonderful Rainbow Birthday Picnic….

So each time one of my children’s birthdays roll around I joke that I feel like another year older and it’s not even my birthday. Well this year with birthday celebrations for my grandchildren Zoe and Oliver the number of days per year that I feel another year older has soared to seven – if I include my own birthday!! Luckily, unlike a dog I still only age one year at a time and not seven!!read more

Babysitting Oliver Tomorrow – Is it Back to the Sheep Farm Again?

So tomorrow it’s back to babysitting Oliver solo, well at least for the morning, Through July and August both my wife and I have been babysitting Oliver on Wednesdays, with the reserves Elizabeth and Nick coming in the afternoon. But my wife started back to work today and Elizabeth started working at her new school job (her last year in her Masters program working a year in a school) last week, so all that’s left is me in the morning and Nick and I in the afternoon. I am sure everything will go fine, a lot of times he is better when there are fewer people around, i.e. there is less to get him stimulated when it’s just DA!read more

Babysitting Miss Zoe while Father Pete Went Off to the Doctors

This week my son Peter had two doctor’s appointments for his recent bouts with pain in his upper abdomen. The pains sent him to the hospital and left the doctors scratching their heads. All of his major organs look fine i.e.gall bladder, kidneys and liver. The initial diagnosis was pancreatitis. On Tuesday, he had an endoscopy and Thursday he had an appointment with a urologist. Since his wife Melissa went with him, we were happy to step in and watch Miss Zoe.read more

The featured picture at the top of this post was taken from the rear of the Beverly Presbyterian Church on August 23, 1975 the night Kathleen Anne Clarke and I were married! It is hard to believe that 40 years have passed since that night! They always say that time flies when you’re having fun and for the most part we’ve had fun, oh we’ve had our share of sorrows, the deaths of our parents, particularly Kathy’s mother who died at the age of 48 from breast cancer, losses of favorite Aunts and Uncles, but those sorrows have been more than made up for by our four children, although much of the fun was at the expense of Dad, now that fun comes from our grandchildren Zoe and Oliver.read more

.…..and have a great two days with Zoe, can’t wait for the next two (Monday and Wednesday) with Oliver!!

My son Peter and his wife Melissa spent an anniversary weekend in Boston this Friday and Saturday, so my wife and I go to spend some extended time with our granddaughter Zoe. While Miss Zoe is a lot more active now that she can get around on her own, she is still a sea of calm compared to the whirling dervish that is grandson Oliver.

It’s fun watching her play, she takes in everything very seriously and plays well by herself. The bad thing about yesterday was that she didn’t want to nap. She shortened her morning nap from two hours to about 45 minutes and then she shortened her afternoon nap to about 30 minutes. Even with not sleeping though, she was still pleasant and we had a great day.read more

The Ever Quiet Zoe is getting a little Fiesty at 10 Months!

So over the last little while I have posted more about my grandson Oliver, than my granddaughter Zoe. The main reason for that is Zoe’s mom Melissa left her job several months ago and I haven’t been babysitting Zoe twice a week like I was back in the winter. My wife and I see her at least once a week, or so, and she is a wonderfully happy little girl. She is standing by herself now, and walking several steps,all with the small great smile she has always had. Every month her mother has posted a picture on her monthly anniversary. As a sign of growing independence Zoe wasn’t much interested in having having her picture taken last month…..read more

Oliver and Granddad Explore the Northern End of Beacon Avenue!

So yesterday was an interesting day of babysitting with our grandson, Oliver. The morning was rough because it rained most of the time. While the rain didn’t bother Oliver, granddad was not amused. The first walk which was shortened, because of the rain, was the better of the two, because the rain was lighter. On the second walk the rain was heavier, and I tried to push the stroller and hold the umbrella , which didn’t work out too well. The later walk would have been the one on which he should have fallen asleep, but as he was screaming, not in a bad way, when we were walking back up his street, I knew that was not to be!! He held out until almost noon, when he couldn’t go anymore and he rocked to sleep to “Uptown Funk”, but when I put him in his crib, he popped back up and I had to lay him on my chest until he fell more deeply asleep!!!read more

Actually, Oliver Rides and Granddad walks and walks and walks……..

So, I pretty much think that when they say that you should walk 3 times a week for thirty minutes a walk,that they don’t mean do it all in one day!! That’s what I did yesterday as grandson Oliver and I took five, count them, five walks around his Paulsboro neighborhood!

When the day started Oliver seemed tired, and we made it all the way until about 8:30 before he wanted to go for a walk. My wife and I arrived at 8 by the way! So off, Oliver and I went. The walk lasted about thirty minutes and we visited the dogs both real and statues on Greenwich Ave, along with the house with the elephant statue in the front yard!read more

As a Parent, You Want to Take Care of Them and their Kids Forever!

Several years ago, we were in Virginia either taking my daughter Elizabeth to school or visiting. Either way we were driving down the main drag in Williamsburg when we received a phone call from the home were my mother was living. The home was requesting my permission to take away her phone, Mom suffered from Parkinson’s disease and the medication she was taking often left her with very real delusions. These delusions often resulted in her thinking that people came in buses to take residents from the home to Ohio, She luckily had not been among those chosen to be removed! Other delusions included a fear of being arrested because one of the nurses hid cocaine in her stuffed monkey. At the time of the phone call, she believed that one of the male residents was out to kill her and that night she had called 911 because he was in her room!! Needless to say, there was no man, but the home still had to call me to get permission to take her phone to avoid any repeats of the mess she createdread more